Bolsonaro Ineligible: see how each TSE minister voted – 06/30/2023 – Power

The TSE (Superior Electoral Court) decided this Friday (30) to make Jair Bolsonaro (PL) ineligible for eight years.

In all, there were 5 votes in favor and 2 against the ineligibility. For the current legislation, the former president will be able to run for the 2030 election, at the age of 75, thus staying away from three elections until then (one of them being the national one of 2026).

Seven ministers judged the action, filed by the PDT, which accused Bolsonaro of committing abuse of political power and misuse of the media during a meeting with ambassadors held in July last year.

See how the court voted:

Benedito Gonçalves, rapporteur for the action at the TSE

The TSE inspector general was the first to vote for Bolsonaro’s ineligibility. On the 27th, Benedito stated that it was not possible to turn a blind eye to anti-democratic speeches based on lies and incitement to violence, criticized the trivialization of the coup d’état and highlighted the “epic of attacks by the former president”, using the image of the Armed Forces.

“The meeting of July 18, 2022, at the Alvorada Palace, is not a photograph on the wall, but a fact inserted in a context”, he said at the time.

Raul Araújo, Minister of the STJ

Araújo was the first to present his vote when resuming the session, on the 29th, and took a stand against ineligibility.

The minister even suggested that the Electoral Justice could affect popular sovereignty and the performance of the Judiciary if it disregarded freedom of expression and the Presidency’s attributions in the episode of the meeting with ambassadors —denying the seriousness of the case.

Raul was being pressured by Bolsonaro to submit a request for a view, which would suspend the trial. He chose, however, to proceed with the action, guaranteeing an appeal of the judgment to the STF.

Floriano de Azevedo Marques

Marques voted in favor of Bolsonaro’s ineligibility. The minister accepted the inclusion of the draft, but said that the former president’s behavior at the meeting with the ambassadors is sufficient for action.

“There was a deviation of purpose insofar as the investigated used his skills as head of state to create an apparent diplomatic meeting with the objective, in fact, of responding to the TSE and building a candidate persona, using the means and instruments official, including media, to reach its recipient: the voter,” he said.

André Ramos Tavares

The minister was the third to vote for the former president’s ineligibility. He stated that the ex-president’s speech came to characterize a delusional narrative, “with disastrous effects on democracy, on the electoral process, on the popular belief in conspiracies concerning the system of counting votes”.

His vote was the last one presented on Thursday (29), closing the session with a score of 3 votes in favor of Bolsonaro’s ineligibility and 1 against the action.

Carmen Lúcia, from the STF

The minister followed the rapporteur, Benedito Gonçalves, and cast the decisive vote to form a majority for the former president’s ineligibility.

Cármen Lúcia made an emphatic defense of the colleagues of the STF who starred in clashes with the former representative and said that Bolsonaro “challenged the ministers” of the Supreme Court.

Kassio Nunes Marques, member of the STF

Appointed to the Supreme Court by Bolsonaro, Marques voted in favor of the former president and left the judgment score at 4 to 2. The minister defended the electronic voting system, but said he did not see enough gravity in Bolsonaro’s action to deserve his accountability with ineligibility.

The minister usually remains faithful to Bolsonarist agendas in progress in the Judiciary. For this reason, he was one of the possible allies of the former president, who was expected to submit a request for a review (more time to analyze the case) to delay the court’s decision.

Alexandre de Moraes, member of the STF

Minister Alexandre de Moraes cast the fifth and final vote for the declaration of ineligibility for Jair Bolsonaro. The magistrate classified the meeting with ambassadors in which the former president discredited, without evidence, the voting system as an “electoral monologue”.

He also stated that the declarations of the former representative are not possible opinions, but lies. He also said that the court does not innovate by declaring Bolsonaro ineligible and cited the action that led to the impeachment of former state deputy Fernando Francischini for spreading lies about electronic voting machines.

Action against Walter Braga Netto

You ministers unanimously defended that the reserve general Walter Souza Braga Netto, also the target of the action, should not have his political rights revoked, understanding that he had no involvement with the meeting with foreign representatives and, therefore, should not be condemned .

Braga Netto was a candidate for vice president on Bolsonaro’s ticket in the 2022 elections.